bigblogofgardening

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Remembering my summer garden.

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Native to the southeastern U.S., American Beautyberry can be grown in hardiness zones 7-11 and in zone 6B if winter is not too cold or the plant is protected from a deep freeze.

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Even when we harvest at the perfect time, how we store vegetables is of supreme importance. In my early gardening years I ended up with a bin of rotten potatoes and onions because I didn’t cure them correctly – that was an entire season wasted when all I had to do was read a little. Lesson learned.

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Busting the bonemeal myth.

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Sometimes the local bird population isn’t as excited as we are about new bird feeders and birdbaths. After we set them out and stare out the window for hours, we may not see much in the way of new activity. There are a few possible reasons for this.

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When you have limited space to grow flowers, fruits, herbs, and vegetables, as most home gardeners do, choosing what to grow each year can be daunting. Adding to the confusion is the choice between heirloom seeds, hybrid seeds, and the pros and cons of each.

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Water is the single most important factor in keeping your Christmas tree fresh. Here are tips to keep your Christmas tree hydrated so that it stays as fresh as possible through New Year's Day.

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Living in the center of a big urban area comes with its benefits. But the sacrifice we make is limited space. You likely have a shared garden, a tiny postage stamp plot, or only the balcony. While we can make our way to the many parks available, there is nothing like nurturing your own garden. One of the best ways to do this in an urban area is with containers, which can be used to enhance small areas of metal or concrete and bring a little nature and fresh food to your home.

Here we will look at the types of containers you can buy for urban gardening, what you can grow, and a few tips for success.

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What is Bokashi Composting?

The beauty of Bokashi is that it can be done right in your kitchen and doesn’t require a big pile of yard scraps in a compost bin outdoors.

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What is Bokashi Composting?

Bokashi is an anaerobic process that uses EM (effective microorganisms) to ferment food scraps and turn them into ready-to-use garden fertilizer. The EM helps break down the kitchen wastes and prevents them from rotting and stinking. Bokashi differs from traditional composting in that it is a fermentation process and not a decomposition process. The beauty of Bokashi is that it can be done right in your kitchen and doesn’t require a big pile of yard scraps in a compost bin outdoors.

How bokashi composting works

The traditional composting process requires air, water, moisture, and regular stirring to speed decomposition (along with help from aerobic bacteria). In contrast, the Bokashi process only uses “bokashi bran” and an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment to ferment materials. Bokashi bran is developed from EM and rice or wheat bran mix. When added to food scraps, the fermentation creates a liquid fertilizer and pre-compost materials in just 2-4 weeks.

The Bokashi process is pretty simple: Mix bokashi bran with layers of food scraps and store it in an airtight bokashi bin for around 14 days. Every other day, drain off the leachate, aka “bokashi tea“, from the bokashi bucket to use as liquid fertilizer. By the end of 2 weeks, you’ll have a “pre-compost” fermented mixture that can be used as fertilizer for your garden or added to the compost pile to speed decomposition.

Materials needed for bokashi composting

Bokashi composting only requires a few materials and you can make it right in your kitchen.

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Is It a Small Tree or a Big Shrub? The Difference May Not Be Obvious.

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Bee pollinating basil

http://www.bigblogofgardening.com/companion-planting-deters-insects-mice-rabbits-and-moles/